Documents

On the occasion of the swearing in of the new Israeli government and the 19th Knesset (18 March 2013) and the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (22 March 2013), Adalah is pleased to launch the Discriminatory Laws Database,

References to Israeli soldiers murdering Egyptian prisoners of war, although never officially acknowledged by Israel, can be found in a variety of sources. This case is interesting because it provides details on a discussion with the young General Ariel Sharon, a senior commander during the the 1956 Sinai War. Sharon lies about both the cause and the timing of the murder of Egyptian war prisoners.

In late 2011, the self-appointed media watchdog CAMERA informed the Journal of Palestine Studies of an incorrect citation in an article by Ilan Pappé referring to a quotation by Israeli founding father David Ben-Gurion which supports the expulsion (“transfer”) of Arabs from Palestine. Rashid Khalidi discusses the case, its implications and historical context.

US cooperation with Israel [includes] various security concerns, from Israel’s undertakings of tasks the US might not be willing to do, to sharing intelligence and missile defense cooperation, to the Israeli expertise in cyber security that has already benefitted U.S. banking, communications, transportation and utilities.

IOAEditor: The full report on which the article is based, entitled Israel: A Strategic Asset for the US, can be downloaded on the article page. Highly recommended by Moshé Machover as “an antidote to the widespread thesis that the Israeli/Zionist tail is wagging the US dog. The US imperialists are not innocents coerced or manipulated by the evil Zionists. In fact, they are senior and junior partners, respectively.”

US cooperation with Israel [includes] various security concerns, from Israel’s undertakings of tasks the US might not be willing to do, to sharing intelligence and missile defense cooperation, to the Israeli expertise in cyber security that has already benefitted U.S. banking, communications, transportation and utilities.

The 2006 Edward Said Memorial lecture of Adelaide University,Australia, delivered by Tanya Reinhart on 7 October 2006. Tanya Reinhart covers important issues in this lecture: the Nakba in the history of the occupied and the occupier, the choice of armed- vs. unarmed struggle, Israel and South-Africa, the role of international activism, and what can be learned from both Edward Said and Nelson Mandela.

Israel exploits the natural resources in the Jordan Valley and northern Dead Sea more than in the rest of the West Bank and prevents Palestinians from using most of the area’s land and water resources.

Why did the Arabs of Haifa flee in 1948? Didn’t Haifa’s Jewish mayor ask them to stay? Maybe because Haganah (the primary pre-state Jewish military organization in Palestine) mortar rounds shot at the midst of the civilian crowds in the market, spoke another language. Here is a story that Israeli historians do not like to tell. (HEBREW)

“We are rapidly turning into South Africa. The economic hardship due to sanctions will be felt by every family in Israel,” said Idan Ofer at a gathering of some 80 businessmen. (HEBREW)

IOAEditor: A clear indication of how Israel’s ruling elite is deeply concerned about the potential economic impacts of BDS on Israel’s economy and on all Israelis. The meeting, which was organized in great secrecy, included Israeli billionaires and other leading business figures and its purpose was to support a diplomatic initiative designed to avert the impending deterioration of Israel’s global status.

In the 1940s, with the understanding that a war is on its way, the Haganah (the primary pre-state Jewish military organization in Palestine) collected detailed intelligence on hundreds of Palestinian villages. Only a few dozen files survived in the archives, and in them images that teach a great deal about the way in which the Palestinian population at the time was viewed by the Jewish population. (HEBREW)

On March 30, 2011, join the international campaign to Stop the Jewish National Fund. A key pillar of the colonization of Palestine – from the founding of the State of Israel to the present – has been the Keren Kayemet LeIsrael (KKL), commonly known in English as the Jewish National Fund (JNF). The JNF enjoys charity status in over 50 countries. This is despite its role in the on-going displacement of indigenous Palestinians from their land, the theft of their property, the funding of historic and present-day colonies, and the destruction of the natural environment.

A dramatic change is taking place in the form of Israeli control in the occupied Palestinian territories (oPt), whereby, in addition to soldiers and security officials, one begins to notice the growing presence of private security personnel. A number of Israeli security companies operate in the oPt, taking over some of the tasks that were traditionally executed by the army… The variety of operations of private security companies illustrates, perhaps most lucidly, that the Israeli occupation today is sustained not only by state military forces, but also by a multitude of commercial and economic forces, whose activities in the oPt are interwoven into the establishment of control itself.

Israel’s demolition of the Shepherd’s Hotel property in the Sheikh Jarrah, East Jerusalem, in preparation for the establishment of a new Jewish settlement is part of the larger Israeli settlement enterprise aimed at maximizing territorial contiguity for illegal settlements, while incorporating the bare minimum Palestinian population within Jerusalem’s boundaries. It is designed to fragment the Palestinian neighborhoods of Jerusalem and separate them from the Old City and the remainder of the occupied Palestinian territory; and to preempt any negotiated solution on Jerusalem.

Documents of the Second International session of the Russell Tribunal on Palestine that took place in London on November 20, 21 and 22 2010 on “Corporate Complicity in Israel’s Violations of International Human Rights Law and International Humanitarian Law”.

Unlike the Peace Now Settlements Task Force, which has played an important role in documenting and exposing illegal Israeli West Bank settlements, the Tel Aviv leadership of Peace Now is reported to be collaborating with Israel’s propaganda ministry under Lieberman’s leadership.

Report of the international fact-finding mission to investigate violations of international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, resulting from the Israeli attacks on the flotilla of ships carrying humanitarian assistance.

For 62 years, the Palestinian people have been misunderstood and oppressed, and in a small way, we hope to change that. It is in the spirit of justice that we found the inspiration to compile The Veritas Handbook.

Tom Segev dismantles Morris’s assessment of the 1948 War and the ethnic cleansing of hundreds of thousands of Palestinian from their homeland. Pointing to Morris’s lack of concern for Palestinian victims, Segev counters Morris’s false claims on the actual war crimes carried out by the Israelis, for example, in Deir Yassin – acts which the the State of Israel and its Supreme Court still keep secret.

[Israel’s] refusal to negotiate in 1971 led to the grimmest moment in [its] history, and preference for expansion over security and diplomacy has had dire consequences since, with perhaps worse to come. Israel often speaks of an “existential threat.” The most immediate and severe “existential threat” is its unwillingness to pursue diplomatic options that are open.

The bill was introduced by 25 Knesset members, of both coalition and opposition parties. The bill would outlaw a wide range of BDS activities, both inside and outside of Israel and in the Occupied Territories, heavily penalize participants, and be applied one year retroactive to its effective date. Also, this proposed law would require the state of Israel to monitor the views and actions of activists abroad.

IOA Editor's Last Word

As regular readers already know, the IOA does not advocate a specific solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict (e.g., one-state vs. two-state) or endorses a particular group or viewpoint. From its inception, the IOA's focal point has been a steadfast opposition to the Israeli Occupation and support for an equitable solution for all Palestinians - a people's basic right to self-determination.

As IOA readers know, Haaretz provides some of the best coverage of the Occupation. But... effective September 2012, Haaretz content is no longer available on the IOA. Instead, Haaretz has generously offered IOA readers a discounted subscription price. Subscription details can be found HERE.

NOAM CHOMSKY:"TheIOAis my first and foremost resource for all Occupation and Israel-Palestine matters..."